Chad and Catherine's Adventures in London

Giving Thanks

We have so much to be thankful for, and this past weekend we were lucky enough to celebrate with the reason at the top of my personal list - family and friends.

We spent Thanksgiving in Mt. Airy with the Harrell's where we cooked, caught up and ate ourselves silly.  William really enjoyed the quality time with his cousins, Nana and Poppy including trips around the neighborhood on the four wheeler, playing in the massive piles of leaves Poppy was blowing in the yard, riding on the tractor and playing with Hayden and Logan.  I think Renata enjoyed the fun as well including taking part in the traditional American Thanksgiving activities.  

The kids playing games with Renata

William and Hayden reading together

The family together for Thanksgiving (Melody, Mike and Aunt Jeannie took the bar!)

A trip to Opie's Candy shop on main street with Nana

Melody offered to keep William at her house an extra night so that Chad and I could have some quality time to ourselves on Friday and Saturday.  I almost felt strange as we've really never had that type of unexpected luxury before - ah, the joys of being home close to family.

Chad and I had a dinner and movie date night and then spent almost all day Saturday in Chapel Hill with friends at the UNC vs Duke football game.  I hadn't been to a game in four years and it had been longer since I'd actually walked on campus.  It was so very wonderful to see everyone and catch up together.

 

I'm so very thankful.

Normalizing

Things are starting to feel normal around here again.  That is the new normal - what ever that is evolving into!  Renata arrived on Friday after three days of training and sight seeing in New York City.  She was in a class of 16 Au Pairs that promptly scattered to different families around the country.  Chad arrived on Saturday and since that time, "Daddy" has to do everything... "strap me in!", "fix my breakfast", 'play train tracks".  I have to say, it's actually a nice break.  Nothing like taking a long hot shower and actually have personal time to get dressed without crying or constant tugging to do something else!  I love having quality time with William, but it is also great to have some other folks in the house that he is just as attached to.

It's also been fun to observe America through Chad's eyes.  He's having almost exactly the same reactions that I had... just two weeks delayed.

• Look, Chick-fil-A!
• Gosh, everyone here wears college team t-shirts, sweatshirt and baseball caps.  I mean everyone.
• Is this a linen closet?  Look how wide these halls are.  Can you believe the size of the closet in here?
• Wow, people are SO friendly.  They just talk to you when you are standing in line.  It's almost a strange feeling to have people be so nice to you.
• Can you believe the size of this orange juice jug?  I wonder how long it's been since I've seen a gallon of milk.  Portion sizes here are crazy large.
• Where is a good Bojangles when you need one?
• Wow, back to the land of 20% tipping.  Kind of like the rate being set at 10-12% and included in your bill. 

I've found that some of the things that drive me nuts about America I also missed terribly.  I hate fast food, but get a total pleasure out of Chick-fil-A and Chipotle.  Big box retail stores seem so foreign, but it sure is nice to go into one place and be able to find a HUGE selection of EVERYTHING you could possibly need in one place.  Portion sizes are out of control, but it is great to have left overs you can eat for lunch the following day.  I miss the crazy, sleek European fashion scene, but also love being able to go out in more casual attire if I want to and not feel bad about it all.  Mixed emotions?

 

 

 

 

Being "home"

Over a week has passed since we landed in North Carolina.  Needless to say, between getting settled in temporary housing, taking care of William, starting a new job and continuing to keep our overall relocation on track, things have been a little too busy to blog regularly.  But we are doing well, primarily thanks to the help of Nana and Grandmama who have both come to Raleigh to take care of William while I started working.  

There are many adjustments.  The biggest one is driving.  I hate it... really hate it.  Although we are living in an apartment in North Hills - a fantastic new planned community with lots of shops, restaurants, markets within walking distance - you still have to drive practically everywhere.  And it feels like I'm spending SO much time in the car.  My rental has an interesting feature -a clock that started running when I rented it and only keeps time when I'm driving.  After one week, it read nine hours and thirty six minutes.  Granted, two hours of that was driving back and forth to Greensboro for an overnight at Sarah's house and Ruby Deakins's birthday party.  But still.  That much time sitting on my butt in a car?  In one week?

My commute is surprisingly short - only about 15 or 20 minutes one way.  I try to remind myself that I still did a lot of sitting on my commute each day in London as I was on the train between 25 and 40 minutes each way.  But it felt so different for some reason.  Perhaps because I had to walk to and from the station.  Or because on a train you can read, work on your laptop or phone, eat breakfast.  Somehow it felt like although long, my commute was actually better for me.

For lunch on Tuesday of this week, I ventured out of the building to find the Whole Foods grocery store. I looked it up on Google Maps and discovered it was only 1.2 miles away.  But that didn't feel quite walkable, so I drove.  It took me 12 minutes to get there and 14 minutes to get back to the office.  Both times, I had to sit through two cycles of each red light I went through.  AARRRGHH!  I can walk a brisk mile in about 15-17 minutes so next time I'll think about leaving the car in the lot.

Another funny observation is the high level of attention William gets riding his scooter around the North Hills area.  In London, almost every kid his age had a scooter.  After all, when you walk everywhere as adults, a scooter for your kid is one of the fastest options for bringing them along.  It's almost like people here haven't really seen kids on scooters, or maybe just not ones as young as William - - particularly taking corners and maneuvering like he can.  It's pure entertainment!

William is mixed on riding in cars.  He thinks getting out in them is fun and even asks randomly to go for rides.  When driving, we talk a lot about the different names of all the cars around us... Odyssey, Kia, Highlander, Fiesta, Rover.  He HATES the turn signal.  If we are sitting at a light too long and I've got one on, he asks over and over to turn the "green light off".  And his span of patience sitting for longer rides is really, really low.  While driving home from Chapel Hill on Sunday night, he told me 36 times that he wanted to "get home and get out".  Given he also hates the radio, I had to start counting just so I wouldn't loose my mind.

Now a positive is that I don't have to sit next to any really stinky people on my regular daily outings.  The week before we left London, I literally got off the tube a stop earlier and walked a longer distance home just to get away from someone on the train.  Yuck.  A nice clean and quiet car does have that as an advantage.

But overall, I really miss my public transportation.  I miss fresh air and walking every day to get where I am going. Driving is my biggest adjustment.

 

So long, farewell

Departure from London was smooth.  We had a taxi to the airport, arrived early, and got an upgrade to business class with points that I’ve racked up over my travels.  We even had time to have a little snack with Daddy before hugs and kisses goodbye and heading through security.  We even had time to pick up a Paddington Bear for William in the Harrod’s gift shop in Terminal 3.  The pilots were also super friendly, inviting William up before take off to have his photo flying the plane.

Although he didn’t nap on the nine-hour flight, William was very well behaved.  This made me happy, particularly given we were seated next to one of my very favorite actors, Mr. Colin Firth.   I actually probably wouldn’t have even noticed him but the flight attendants were overly talkative and friendly… and I heard one address him by “Mr. Firth”.  He was so gracious and kind to everyone who approached him during the flight. 

We were "introduced" after William decided and announced that he no longer wanted his seat.  Instead he wanted Colin’s seat and they should switch.  Needless to say, that didn’t happen, but we did have a nice conversation about his first born - also named William - who is now 21 years old, the difficulties of getting dual citizenship and how much he was enjoying Wilmington where he was currently working.  He had been home in London only for two days to see his wife and younger two sons because it had been a full month since he'd seen them last.  I thought my brief Hugh Grant sighting in Marylebone was exciting.  This really topped it.  I'm a fan for life.

The sight of my Mom and our long-time family friends Barbara and David Brent waiting in RDU airport was fantastic, particularly given I was hauling six pieces of very full luggage and an over tired two year old.   We called Chad to let him know we arrived and drove safely to our new temporary housing in North Hills… and then collapsed by 7:30.

 

 

 

Day 1 - Remember, remember

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I see no reason, why the Gunpowder Treason, should ever be forgot"

"Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent, to blow up the King and Parli'ment,
three-score barrels of powder below, to prove old England's overthrow"

"By God's providence he was catch'd, with a dark lantern and burning match,
holla boys, holla boys, let the bells ring, holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!"

The 5^th of November is Guy Fawkes Day in London, celebrated universally with bonfires and firework displays in celebration.  I still don’t get why they celebrate the failure of a guy who tried to blow up Parliament, but I love the quirkiness of it all.  In our last full day, we spent half of the day doing what we normally do on any Saturday morning – swim classes, a walk through the market, a few errands.  And not so usual – a lot of packing.

After naptime, we got up, had dinner and headed south to Battersea Park.  Although it really isn’t that far away, due to the traffic and hordes of people piling into the park, it took us a while to taxi and walk down.  One of the highlights was getting to walk over the Albert Bridge, which I think is one of the loveliest bridges across the Thames London.  We piled into Battersea, Chad grumbling a bit about having to pay 10 GBP to see fireworks (“as if we’ve ever had to pay to see fireworks in the US!”). 

Once inside, we realized we were in the company of tens of thousands of other Londoners.  There was a HUGE bonfire that captivated William, lots of carnival food and beer tents, and then a wonderful firework display.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one that was actually choreographed in time with music, particularly one of the best fire-themed mixes I’ve heard ever – from the “Burn baby burn – disco inferno” to “It’s Getting Hot in Here” to "Burning Ring of Fire" and a slew of songs with a British flavor including Adele’s latest “Set Fire to the Rain”.  The display was beautiful – Chad said the only one better was one we’d seen on the steps of the Capital for the fourth of July in Washington DC.

So we will now officially say that we went out with a bang – and we will always remember, remember our last three years and three months in this wonderful city and country…. And our last night on the 5^th of November.

 

Day 2 - Friends & Memories

Good byes are the hardest with friends.  We've moved around enough in the past ten years for me to know that it is much harder to keep in touch when you live further away... but luckily with email, Facebook and even this blog, the distance can seem a little shorter.  

William had to say goodbye today to many friends he's made over the past several months at Paint Pots Montessori school in Bayswater.  He has four lovely teachers - Vinni, Layla, Kaitlyn and Celia and about 20 classmates that he's enjoyed quite a bit - - although only a short stay.  I do hope that we can find as lovely of a school in Raleigh as this one has been for us in London.

I took off to the British Museum to meet my friend Lindsay Hair.  The good news is that after five years of a long distance relationship between New York and London, Lindsay is finally relocation to London.  The bad news is the timing is just when we are leaving London for North Carolina!  Lindsay is originally from Cary and I'm hoping we'll get to see her at least every once in a while when she is back visiting family.  She and Oscar frequently visit the British Museum as a good friend manages the restaurant.  We had a great time drinking champagne, eating butter chicken and catching up in a beautiful setting.

Next I met up with my friend Rosa Twelftree just a little further south at Traflagler Square.  I thought we'd do a little touring or shopping, but instead we sat down for another glass of champagne at the Traflagler hotel... before sitting down again for a long high tea at Sketch - one of the more unique restaurants in the city.  Rosa was the HR Manager for Intuit UK when we first arrived in London and was like both a mother and great friend all at the same time.  She left the company last November after nine years, so I haven't seen her as frequently - - but it was wonderful to catch up so deeply before we take off for the states.  Rosa and I also did some window shopping on Mount Street in Mayfair, stopping in to admire artwork in the form of shoes at Christian Louboutin. 

Chad and I head dinner at a restaurant called Terrior, a casual French Bistro.  The food was fine, but the company was better as we spent the evening talking about our favorite memories of the last three years.  What is your favorite castle?  Favorite memory or thing we did in London?  Favorite trip outside of London but inside the UK?  Favorite trip outside of the UK?  Best restaurant experience? 

Chad loved Edinburgh Castle and his favorite memory was meeting Prince Charles at Clarence House.  His favorite trip inside the UK was the Scotland where we visited Edinburgh, St. Andrews and Kilmarnock to see the Boyd’s original home place in Dean Castle.  His favorite trip outside of the UK? Cinque Terra and Lake Como in Italy… and he couldn’t think of a favorite restaurant in London as there were so many we loved.

For me?  In my opinion, there isn’t a more fascinating or dramatic castle that the Tower of London.  I have a number of favorite London memories, but I think my happiest times were just walking through Marylebone, shopping, eating at cafes, and visiting the Wallace Collection.  I couldn’t pick just one place inside of the UK.  I loved the Cotswolds and Wales and Bath and the Lake District all so much.  My favorite trip outside of London would probably be Jordan as it was the most fascinating and unusual… but I loved Berlin, Barcelona and Istanbul as well.   My favorite pub would be the Prince Bonapart and restaurant would be a tie between Crazy Homies Mexican for the margaritas, food and ambiance. - - and Barrafina in Soho for amazingly good Spanish tapas.

We ended the night with a two and a half hour bike ride around London – biking all the way down to the Tower of London, by St. Paul’s (and the protestors), over London Bridge, along the south bank, by the London Eye, Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.  We didn’t realize how late it had gotten until we cruised right by Big Ben!  And although we were tired and talked about parking the bikes and taking the tube, we ended up biking all the way back to South Kensington, through a couple of neighborhoods we’d never even seen before. 

It was a wonderful way to spend a last date night out in London.

Day 3 - Work Farewell

Thursday was my last day in the office.  It was quite the long haul in as I brought a full suitcase and shopping bag full of many small appliances to give to a new American colleague who has just arrived in the UK.  Several of these were given to me by American friends who have come and gone so I'm just continuing to spread the good karma!  

It was a surprisingly busy day as I was wrapping up a few projects, having final transition meetings with my team, turning in my phone, laptop, credit card, badge… and probably most importantly, having drinks with the local UK team after work.  My official farewell “do” was a week ago where the entire office gathered into a room and my manager, Pernille, went through about ten power point slides with pictures and the most wonderful comments about me and my contributions to Intuit over the last nine years.  It was hard to keep tears back, particularly as I gave a little going away speech of my own.  There was champagne, cake and gifts (a beautiful photo album, an 8x10 photo of the entire UK team taken just a few months back that I love, and a stunning Mulberry purse that is WAY nicer than anything I’d ever buy for myself!). 

I’ve absolutely loved working at Intuit and the last three years in the global division have given me life changing experiences – traveling and working in Asia and Europe, learning about customs and cultures all over the globe.  But of course the hardest part is leaving all of the people that you’ve worked so closely with over the years.  It would be impossible to list and recognize all the many people that have touched my life - - but I hope you know who you are.  And more importantly, I always hope to keep in touch.  Paths almost always cross again.

My departure note that sums it up for me:

After nine wonderful years, it is difficult to believe that today is my last with Intuit.  I joined Intuit because of the strong values of the company, passion for solving important customer needs and commitment to being a place where employees and teams could grow, take risks, be innovative and succeed.  And of course the very best part has been the many talented and motivated people that I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years. 

All of these things make it extremely difficult to leave, but I’m also excited about my next adventure.  After spending the last three years based out of London with the Global Business Division, I’m headed back to the states to Raleigh, NC where I have a new professional opportunity as well as the ability to be closer to family and friends in my home state.      

Thank you for the opportunity to work, learn, succeed and most importantly, laugh and have so much fun with each of you over the years.  Please do keep in touch!

Catherine

 

 

Day 4 - Wandering

One of the best parts of not working and yet being in London is being able to take William to school.  Given my commute has taken about an hour one way for the past three years, I leave the house at 7:40 each morning, the vast majority of the time William isn't even out of bed.  So it's a real treat to be the one that gets the morning snuggle when he wakes up, makes him breakfast and then takes him on the journey to Paint Pots in Bayswater.  Being in temporary housing in South Kensington makes the trip more exciting for William as we get to ride the train.

After dropping William off, I literally wandered through Bayswater for three hours on foot taking pictures and exploring my memories of all the great times we've had in this neighborhood.  I took a few hundred photos... but here are just a few:

My favorite UK children and maternity clothing store:

Perhaps a place in my top five list of things I will miss most - "fast" food that is fresh, healthy and made in store every single day:

Whiteley's Shopping Mall - the oldest in London and where we often stopped for groceries (Marks and Spencer), Coffee (Costa), clothing (Zara, Gap Kids, H&M) and Gymboree classes:

I stopped through Paddington Station and stood before this machine that I've utilized almost daily for three years to buy my round trip ticket to work in Maidenhead...

And of course pay hommage to Mr. Paddington himself:

I spent a lot of time looking UP and admiring the architecture.  I remember being in awe for weeks at just how diverse and amazing the buildings are in this city.  After a while, the magic fades... and I can often pick out tourists because they are never looking where they are walking - - because they are looking up and taking it all in.

Something that never ceases to amaze me in London is the extremely high end cars, parallel parked around the streets of the city.  On this one day, I took a these photos of a Rolls Royce, Aston Martin and Lotus, all parked here and there.  Money can't always buy you a parking space.

     

In the afternoon, I'd made plans to finally make it to the Tate Britain art museum.  But I never made it. Instead, I spent my time shopping and eating.  At first I felt a little guilty about it - - but then I reminded myself that shopping in Raleigh, NC isn't quite going to be the same as in London.  And when do I really have time to literally just shop at my own pace and leisure for no purpose... verses very targeted get in and get out?  Most of my shopping these days is online!

I hit a dim sum restaurant in Soho which was delicious... then wandered around to some of my all time favorite shopping areas.  I cruised Burlington Arcade and window shopped all of the antique jewelry stores which have mind boggling bobbles.  I stopped in Laduree and stocked up on the best macaroons on the planet (salted caramel - yum!).  I bought a nice trench rain coat which I really should have done three years ago, but will now carry with me as a reminder of my time in London.

Last but not least, I cruised through several floors at Fortum and Mason, a quintessential British store, where I bought in a few items for classic British tea, picked up some of their coffee in and browsed the Christmas section with a huge smile on my face.  I had to force myself NOT to buy ornaments as they were so very lovely and made me happy just looking at them. The merchandising in this place is some of the best I've ever seen. 

And all the sudden it was six o'clock.  How did that happen?  What a truly luxurious day all to myself in London town. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compare and contrast

And this is something that will be really refreshing about our relocation to North Carolina... 

 

Indexes Difference
Consumer Prices in Raleigh, NC are 27.90% lower than in London
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Raleigh, NC are 39.02% lower than in London
Rent Prices in Raleigh, NC are 61.86% lower than in London
Restaurant Prices in Raleigh, NC are 38.70% lower than in London
Groceries Prices in Raleigh, NC are 17.20% lower than in London
Local Purchasing Power in Raleigh, NC is 28.60% higher than in London

 

Day 5 - Tourist

Today I was a tourist.  Well, after about 4 hours of administration.  I started at 7 am at Starbucks with my laptop working on the ongoing list of things to do.  Call Junior League about tranfer of membership and refund of dues difference.  Send new Canada Country Manager decks from transition last week.  Set up appointment drinks with people from work on Thursday night in Maidenhead.  Email about temporary housing.  Download electronic copies of pay checks for records.  Confirm address where last check will be physically mailed.  Print and sign exit interview paperwork. Shew.

By noon, I was off with camera tucked away in my bag to Monument tube stop, where I visited what is known simply as "The Monument".  311 stairs up to the top for a killer 360 view of London.  This monument was designed by Christopher Wren and built as a tribute to the people of London after the great London fire of 1666.  It was constructed over four years and opened in 1677 for people to walk up and take in beautiful views of the city.

Then I took the tube back to Westminster to finally visit Westminster Abbey.  Chad, Aunt Mary and Melody visited last October but I think I was home with a napping little one.  It is a really special place, originally constructed in 960, the site of 38 coronations since 1066 and really taking current form in the mid-1200s.  An amazing array of Kings, Queens, Poets, Actors and Clergymen are all buried or commemorated here.  My favorite area of the church was Henry VII's The Lady Chapel, also the home  of the "Order of the Bath"  My favorite was learning that Westminister is called a "Royal Peculiar" which give it special status:

‘Royal Peculiar’means Westminister Abbey is a free chapel of the Sovereign, exempt from any ecclesiastical jurisdiction other than that of the Sovereign. Royal Peculiars originated in Anglo-Saxon times and developed as a result of the unique relationship between the Norman and Plantagenet Kings and the English Church. In 1222 the Abbey was declared a Papal Peculiar, exempt from the jurisdiction of both the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury. It has been a Royal Peculiar since 1533 when the Ecclesiastical Licences Act, as confirmed by the Act of Supremacy of 1559, transferred to the Sovereign the jurisdiction which had previously been exercised by the Pope. Other Royal Peculiars include St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and the Chapels Royal.

I stopped off for a late lunch in the lounge of The Goring Hotel, just a few blocks from Buckingham Palace. This place has only been open about 100 years and is quite tucked away.  You might recognize it as the place where Kate spent the night with her family before the Royal Wedding in April.  

Next stop was the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham. As you might imagine, the Royal family has quite a treasure trove of art stored up from the past thousand or so years.  And this small and intimate little gallery has rotating exhibits throughout the year.  I just missed the Dutch Masters display and instead caught an interesting photography exhibit of the two major British expeditions to the South Pole.  I'd actually heard about one of them as it was used as a case study during our Leadership class in MBA school.  The photos and stories of the men in both the 1910 exhibition with Scott (who reached the pole 1 month after his competition and died on the return trip with two of his men) and again in 1914 with Shackleford are really difficult to believe.  

And I wrapped my tourist day with some shopping on Oxford Street - a place that I try very hard to avoid as it is swarming with tourists.  But I had a gift to exchange, so took the plunge.  Christmas lights were everywhere.  I have to keep remembering the fact that the UK doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving means that decorations go up in October.  Crazy.